Interactive play sets

ABSTRACT

An interactive play set is described which comprises one or more active physical play pieces. In an embodiment, each active physical play piece receives data from one or more other play pieces in the play set and uses this data to generate proximity data. The proximity data describes distances between two or more play pieces from which it receives data to three or more proximity levels. The proximity data is then transmitted to an interactive entertainment experience (such as a game) which reflects changes in proximity level. For example, the changes may be visible in a graphical user interface or another play piece or audible to a user.

BACKGROUND

There are many ways that a user can interact with a computer game andtypically a user controls the game via a keyboard and mouse, gamescontroller (which may be handheld or detect body movement) or touchscreen, dependent upon the platform on which the game is being played(e.g. computer, games console or handheld device). A number of gameshave also been developed in which gameplay is enabled (or unlocked)through the use of physical character toys which are placed on a custombase connected to a games console. By placing different toys on thecustom base, different gameplay is enabled.

The embodiments described below are not limited to implementations whichsolve any or all of the disadvantages of known apparatus for interactingwith interactive entertainment experiences, such as computer games.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of the disclosure in orderto provide a basic understanding to the reader. This summary is not anextensive overview of the disclosure and it does not identifykey/critical elements or delineate the scope of the specification. Itssole purpose is to present a selection of concepts disclosed herein in asimplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that ispresented later.

An interactive play set is described which comprises one or more activephysical play pieces. In an embodiment, each active physical play piecereceives data from one or more other play pieces in the play set anduses this data to generate proximity data. The proximity data describesdistances between two or more play pieces from which it receives data tothree or more proximity levels. The proximity data is then transmittedto an interactive entertainment experience (such as a game) whichreflects changes in proximity level. For example, the changes may bevisible in a graphical user interface or another play piece or audibleto a user.

Many of the attendant features will be more readily appreciated as thesame becomes better understood by reference to the following detaileddescription considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present description will be better understood from the followingdetailed description read in light of the accompanying drawings,wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a play set 100 which comprises oneor more physical play pieces;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an active play piece and a flow diagramof an example method of operation of an active play piece;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a semi-active play piece and a flowdiagram of an example method of operation of a semi-active play piece;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an example method of operation of anassociated interactive entertainment experience;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing thresholds between differentproximity levels;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a further example method of operation of anassociated interactive entertainment experience;

FIG. 7 shows four more example play sets;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of two example physical play pieces whichform part of a set of physical play pieces;

FIG. 9 shows a further example play set; and

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary computing-based device in whichembodiments of the methods described herein may be implemented.

Like reference numerals are used to designate like parts in theaccompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description provided below in connection with the appendeddrawings is intended as a description of the present examples and is notintended to represent the only forms in which the present example may beconstructed or utilized. The description sets forth the functions of theexample and the sequence of steps for constructing and operating theexample. However, the same or equivalent functions and sequences may beaccomplished by different examples.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a play set 100 which comprises oneor more physical play pieces 102-105. At least one of the play pieces inthe set (and in various examples at least two of the play pieces) areactive play pieces which receive signals from other play pieces andgenerate proximity data describing distances between two or more playpieces in the set (e.g. the proximity data describes distances betweenthe particular active play piece and one or more other play piecesand/or distances between two or more other play pieces). An active piecealso communicates the proximity data to an interactive entertainmentexperience 106 either directly or via one or more intermediaries (wherean intermediary may be another active play piece). Changes in theproximity data are then reflected in the interactive entertainmentexperience. The interactive entertainment experience 106 is thereforedescribed as being associated with the play set 100.

As described in more detail below, the physical play pieces (and hencethe play set) provide an intuitive user input means for the associatedinteractive entertainment experience. This may be particularly usefulfor younger or less dexterous users for whom traditional input devices(e.g. mouse, keyboard, joystick) may be more difficult to manipulate.This may also provide a more enjoyable or natural experience thaninteracting solely through a traditional computer input device such as akeyboard, game controller or touchscreen.

In various examples (e.g. as shown in FIGS. 7 and 9) the physical playpieces may be shaped to represent particular characters or objects (andhence they may have an irregular shape) and in various examples theshape and appearance of a physical play piece may correspond to theshape and appearance of an entity within the interactive entertainmentexperience.

By reflecting changes in proximity data within an interactiveentertainment experience, the user experience of playing with the playset is enhanced (e.g. through visual or audio effects triggered by theinteractive entertainment experience). In various examples, theinteractive entertainment experience may enable a multi-user experience,including in some examples where the users are remote from each other(e.g. not in the same room) and where one or more of the users have aplay set as described herein.

The associated interactive entertainment experience 106, which maycomprise a computer game, virtual world or media entertainmentexperience (e.g. an interactive movie), runs on a computing device 108which may be a desktop or laptop computer, a games console, a handheldcomputing-device (e.g. a smart phone, tablet computer or handheld gamesconsole), a cloud-based computing device, a dedicated game hardwaredevice (i.e. a device that is dedicated to running the interactiveentertainment experience 106, rather than a console that can run manydifferent games and which in various examples may be part of the playset, e.g. an active play piece) or any other computing device. Invarious examples, the computing device 108 may be integrated within oneof the active physical play pieces. In the example shown in FIG. 1, theinteractive entertainment experience 106 is stored in memory 110 in thecomputing device 108 and comprises device-executable instructions whichare executed by a processor 112. In other examples, however, theinteractive entertainment experience 106 may run on a remote computingdevice (e.g. a cloud based computing device) and the computing device108 may comprise software (e.g. a browser or application) whichinterfaces to the remote computing device (e.g. in order to render agraphical user interface for the interactive entertainment experience106. The interactive entertainment experience 106 receives data from theactive pieces 103 via a communication interface 113 in the computingdevice 108 and reflects changes in the distance between play pieceswithin the interactive entertainment experience 106 (e.g. through visualeffects, sounds, etc.). It will be appreciated that the computing device108 may also comprise additional elements and the computing device 108is described in more detail below with reference to FIG. 10.

In various examples all the play pieces in a play set are active playpieces. In other examples, however, a play set may comprise one or moreactive play pieces and one or more other play pieces which are notactive play pieces. These other play pieces may be semi-active playpieces (which transmit signals to other play pieces but do not generateproximity data) or passive play pieces (which do not transmit anysignals). Consequently, in generating proximity data for two or moreplay pieces in the set (using signals received by the receiver), anactive play piece generates proximity data describing the distancebetween itself and an active or semi-active play piece or between twoother play pieces each of which is either an active or semi-active playpiece. In various examples, an active piece may also be arranged tosense the position of a passive piece (i.e. a piece which does nottransmit any signals), in which case an active play piece may also beable to generate proximity data describing the distance between anactive or semi-active play piece and the passive play piece.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of an active play piece 200 and a flowdiagram 220 of an example method of operation of an active play piece200. The active play piece 200 comprises a receiver 202, a distancemodule 204 (which may be implemented in hardware, software or acombination of the two) and a transmitter 206. The receiver 202 isarranged to receive signals from one or more other play pieces withinthe set 100 (block 224) and the signals which are received (in block224) may comprise proximity data and/or be signals used for distancedetermination which were transmitted by other play pieces within theplay set. In various examples the signals used for distancedetermination may use a different technology or protocol to the signalsused to receive proximity data and in such cases the active play piecemay comprise two receivers 202 (one for receiving signals used fordistance determination from other active/semi-active play pieces and onefor receiving proximity data from other active pieces). Where an activeplay piece is arranged to detect passive play pieces, the active playpiece may comprise a receiver or sensor arrangement for detecting thepassive piece (e.g. using ultrasound echo location or laser rangefinderscanning).

In various examples, an active play piece may also be the dedicated gamehardware device which runs the interactive software experience 106. Insuch an example, the transmitter 206 may be omitted from that particularactive play piece.

In various examples, an active play piece 200 may also be arranged toreceive signals (e.g. commands) from the interactive entertainmentexperience 106 (block 229). These signals may be received via a receiver202 which is also arranged to receive signals from other play pieces ora separate receiver 202 may be provided (not shown in FIG. 2). In suchexamples, the active play piece 200 may also comprise one or more LEDsor other device which provides feedback to the user 208 and which iscontrolled by the interactive entertainment experience via these signals(e.g. a speaker, vibrator, motor, olfactory/smell generator, e-paper,other type of display, heater/cooler such as a peltier pump, use ofelectric potential to generate friction effects or other stimulation,haptic output, shape-changing devices such as muscle wire), etc.). Onreceipt of a signal/command (in block 229), the active play piece 200controls the feedback device 208 based on the signal received (block230). Use of such commands by the interactive entertainment experienceto control devices within a play piece is described further withreference to FIG. 4. Use of a feedback device 208 enhances the usersgame play experience with the physical play set, e.g. by making theexperience more realistic.

The distance module 204 is arranged to generate proximity datadescribing distances between two or more play pieces sending signals(i.e. active or semi-active play pieces) based on signals received viathe receiver 202 (block 226). There are many different ways in whichdistances may be determined and various examples are described in moredetail below. The distance module 204 may generate proximity data to atleast three discrete, non-overlapping levels of proximity (which mayalso be referred to as ‘distance states’), where these levels (orstates) may be:

-   -   Lack of proximity—the two play pieces are not sufficiently close        to each other to be deemed proximate and this may be defined        with reference to a threshold, where the threshold may be a        distance (e.g. >50 cm) or a parameter of the received signal        (e.g. signal strength <−50 dBm);    -   Distant proximity—the two play pieces are closer together than        in the previous level, but are still not close together and        again this may be defined with reference to one or more        thresholds or range (e.g. 5-50 cm, −40 dBm-−50 dBm); and    -   Close proximity—the two play pieces are close together and again        this may be defined with reference to a threshold or range (e.g.        <5 cm, >−40 dBm) and this proximity level may, in various        examples, include play pieces which are in contact with each        other.

In various examples, the distance module 204 may generate proximity datato more than three discrete levels of proximity and in an example afurther (e.g. fourth) proximity level may be:

-   -   Connected/attached—the two play pieces are physically connected        to each other (to form a coherent physical whole) and where this        proximity level is used, the level close proximity does not        include two play pieces which are connected/attached.        In various examples, a different further level may also be used        (in addition to or instead of connected/attached), where this        fourth/fifth proximity level may be:    -   Inside/outside—the two play pieces are nested together such that        one fits inside the other and this may be used where a play        piece is hollow or has an aperture to receive another play piece        (e.g. a figurine play piece that can be placed inside a vehicle        play piece) and where this is used, the levels close proximity        and connected/attached (where used) do not include two play        pieces which are nested inside each other.

It will be appreciated that in generating proximity data to three ormore discrete, non-overlapping levels of proximity, the distance module204 may determine a distance between the two play pieces based on thesignals received (block 232, e.g. distance=32 cm) and then determinewhich proximity level the distance falls within (block 234, e.g. 32 cmcorresponds to the level ‘lack of proximity’), e.g. where the proximitylevels are defined using distance thresholds. Alternatively, thedistance module 204 may determine a proximity level without firstdetermining a distance between the play pieces and instead may determinea signal parameter or characteristic (block 236, e.g. −45 dBm) and thenquantize the signal parameters (block 238, e.g. −45 dBm corresponds toproximity level ‘distant proximity’), e.g. where the proximity levelsare defined using signal characteristic thresholds.

In various examples, the proximity data may comprise the actualdetermined distance between play pieces (from block 232) instead ofusing a predefined finite set of quantized proximity levels (i.e. block234 is omitted).

In various examples, the proximity data (generated in block 226) maycomprise additional information as well as a proximity level or actualdistance. The additional information may, for example, comprise arelative location of the two pieces (e.g. in terms of angles, bearings,etc.) and/or information about the surroundings of the active play piece(e.g. light sources or proximate obstacles such as walls). In order todetect information about the surroundings, an active play piece 200 mayfurther comprise one or more sensors 210 (e.g. a camera, light sensor,microphone, etc.).

The transmitter 206 is arranged to transmit proximity data (e.g. theproximity levels or actual distances) to the interactive entertainmentexperience 106 (block 228) either directly or via one or moreintermediaries (which may include another active play piece). In variousexamples, the transmitter 206 may also be arranged to transmit signalsused for distance determination by other active play pieces (block 222)and in some examples, the signals which comprise proximity data(transmitted in block 228) may also be used for distance determinationby other active play pieces (i.e. blocks 222 and 228 may be combined).For example, an active device may use an array microphone to sense theangle of arrival of sounds generated by another play piece. In variousexamples the signals used for distance determination may use a differenttechnology or protocol to the signals used to transmit proximity dataand in such cases the active play piece may comprise two transmitters206: one for transmitting signals used for distance determination byother active play pieces (in block 222) and one for transmittingproximity data to other active pieces or to the interactiveentertainment experience (in block 228). In various examples, audio orultrasound “pings” and responses may be used to determine distancesbetween active play pieces.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a semi-active play piece 300 and aflow diagram 320 of an example method of operation of a semi-active playpiece 300. The semi-active play piece 300 comprises a transmitter 306and does not comprise a distance module 204 (unlike the active playpiece 200). The transmitter 306 is arranged to transmit signals whichare used for distance determination by active play pieces (block 322).

There are many different technologies which may be used to transmitsignals between play pieces and from an active play piece to theinteractive entertainment experience. In various examples, Bluetooth®Low Energy (BLE) or another short range wireless protocol may be used byan active play piece 200 to transmit proximity data to other active playpieces and/or to the interactive entertainment experience 106 (in block228). Consequently, transmitter 206 (or one of the transmitters 206where there is more than one) may be a wireless transmitter and inparticular may be a BLE transmitter. Where an active play piece 300 alsocomprises a receiver 202 which is arranged to receive proximity datafrom another active play piece, this receiver 202 (which may be the solereceiver 202 or one of the receivers 202 in the active play piece) maybe a wireless receiver and in particular may be a BLE receiver.

The same technology (and hence the same transmitter and/or receiver) maybe used to transmit/receive signals which are used in distancedetermination and in various examples RF field strength may be used andthis may be capable of centimeter levels of accuracy. Other technologieswhich may be used to transmit/receive signals which are used in distancedetermination include, but are not limited to:

-   -   Infra-red (IR)—for example using IR LEDs as transmitters and IR        detectors as receivers and determining proximity level based on        received IR intensity    -   Visible light—for example using LEDs in the visible spectrum        (e.g. white LEDs) as transmitters and photodetectors as        receivers and determining proximity level based on received        light intensity (e.g. at the appropriate wavelength which        corresponds to the emissions of the LEDs)    -   Active RFID tags    -   Magnetic field sensing    -   Ultrasonic or audio location—for example using ultrasonic or        audible pings    -   RF time-of-flight        Where these other technologies (listed in the bullet points        above) are used, an active play piece may comprise two receivers        202 and/or two transmitters 206 as described above with separate        transmitters/receivers being used for the signals used for        distance determination and the signals comprising the proximity        data. As a semi-active piece does not perform distance        determination and hence does not generate proximity data, a        semi-active piece may comprise a single transmitter 306.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an example method of operation of anassociated interactive entertainment experience 106. As described above,this interactive entertainment experience 106 may comprise a computergame or virtual world which the user interacts with through manipulationof the set of play pieces. In various examples, a user may also interactwith the interactive entertainment experience in other ways (e.g. via amouse, keyboard, games controller, microphone, gesture recognitionsystem, etc.).

The interactive entertainment experience 106 receives proximity datafrom an active play piece (block 402). As described above, the proximitydata describes distances between two or more play pieces sending signalsand may be defined in terms of three or more discrete (i.e.non-overlapping) proximity levels (e.g. lack of proximity, distantproximity and close proximity) and an example arrangement of pieces isshown in FIG. 5. In the arrangement shown in FIG. 5, distance thresholdsfor the proximity levels are shown for pieces A and B as dotted circles502, with the inner circles marking the border between close proximityand distant proximity levels and the outer circle marking the borderbetween distant proximity and lack of proximity levels. Consequently, inthe arrangement shown in FIG. 5 pieces A and B and pieces A and C andpieces B and D lack proximity. Additionally, pieces B and C have distantproximity and pieces A and D are in close proximity.

The interactive entertainment experience 106 modifies the userexperience provided to reflect the proximity data received (block 404).This modification (in block 404) may be based on the absolute proximitydata received (e.g. pieces A and D are in close proximity) and/or basedon changes in proximity data (e.g. changes in proximity levels, such asif piece D moves as indicated by the dotted arrow 504 shown in FIG. 5).Various examples are described in more detail below and although theseare described separately, it will be appreciated that any two or moremay also be combined (e.g. such that the proximity data is reflected inthe interactive entertainment experience by updating the progress of theuser and modifying sound effects). When reflecting the proximity data inthe interactive entertainment experience (in block 404) this may beapparent to (e.g. seen by, heard by) the user who is moving the physicalplay pieces and/or a remote user. For example, a change in proximitydata caused by first user moving a play piece may be reflected in theGUI displayed to that user and/or a GUI displayed to a second user.

In various examples, the user's progress within a game or online worldmay be updated based on the proximity data (block 441). For example, auser's progress may be updated when particular combinations of piecesare in close proximity to each other (e.g. pieces A, B and C in theexample shown in FIG. 5). The progression which is achieved (in block441) based on the proximity data (received in block 402) may be linearprogression (e.g. progression to the next level) or may be non-linearprogression which results in an enhancement to the interactiveentertainment experience (e.g. to the game play for a game). Forexample, the interaction may unlock some optional content e.g. a newavatar.

In various examples, the proximity data may be reflected within thegraphical user interface (GUI) of the interactive entertainmentexperience (block 442). In an example, the interactive entertainmentexperience may display a map or plan of the arrangement of play piecesand their relative separation within the GUI (e.g. similar to that shownin FIG. 5) and this may be updated (in block 441) based on the proximitydata received (in block 402).

In various examples, changes in proximity data (received in block 402)may result in changes to sound effects within the interactiveentertainment experience (block 443). For example, where play piece A inFIG. 1 is a figurine and play piece D is a vehicle, as D approaches A,the sound of the vehicle D may be played as a sound effect within theinteractive entertainment experience 106. In another example, play pieceB may be a figurine of a dog and the volume of a barking noise soundeffect may be increased if the distance between play piece A and playpiece D reduces, as determined based on the proximity data received inblock 402, e.g. as indicated by the dotted arrow 506 in FIG. 5 (e.g. forlack of proximity the volume level for sound effect associated with playpiece D is zero, for distant proximity, the volume level is two and forclose proximity the volume level is five, where an increase in volumelevel corresponds to the sound getting louder). In both of theseexamples (the vehicle example and the dog example), the user's locationis associated with a particular play piece (e.g. play piece A in theexamples), such that the sound effects are played as if the user is playpiece A or is at the location of play piece A. Use of sound effects inthis way enhances the user experience and the realism of the user's playwith the physical play set.

In various examples, changes in proximity data (received in block 402)may result in commands being sent from one play piece to another (block444), e.g. to cause an effect within the receiving play piece which isapparent (e.g. visible/audible) to a user. For example, if play piece Ais a command center and play piece B is a vehicle, when play piece Bapproaches play piece A, the interactive entertainment experience maysend a command to play piece A (block 444, and received by the playpiece in block 229 in FIG. 2) to trigger LEDs in the play piece to beswitched on (in block 230 in FIG. 2). This enhances the realism of theuser's play with the play set and therefore improves user experience.

In various examples, changes in proximity data may cause a change in theambient experience provided by the interactive entertainment experience.The ambient experience may comprise sound effects (which may includeinaudible low frequency rumbles generated by a bass speaker) and/orvisual effects within the GUI (e.g. by providing lighting effects—in oneexample, if the whole screen has greens and browns fading in and out,then the ambient experience induced may correspond to a jungle). Forexample, where the user is associated with play piece A (a figurine) andplay piece B represents a beach location, if play piece A approachesplay piece B (as indicated by dotted arrow 508 in FIG. 5) the volume ofa “seaside” sound effect (e.g. waves, seagulls, etc.) may be increased(in block 443) and a beach view may become visible within the GUI (inblock 442), e.g. it may grow larger, so that it looks like the user isgetting closer to the beach. Use of ambient experiences enhances theuser experience.

In various examples, the interactive entertainment experience may be asingle user experience and/or it may be associated with a single playset (where one or more users may play with the play set at the sametime). In various examples, however, it may be a multi-user experience.There are different ways in which a multi-user experience may beimplemented. In various examples, users may play with different playsets and multiple play sets may be represented within the GUI to all theusers. The multiple users (and hence play sets) may be co-located orthey may be geographically distributed and their game play may only beconnected via the interactive entertainment experience.

In other examples of a multi-user experience, a remote user, who may nothave a play set, may be able to interact with a virtual representationof another user's play set. In such an example, a first user (in a firstlocation) may create a particular arrangement of play pieces in the realworld using the physical play pieces in a play set and this arrangementmay be represented within the interactive entertainment experience (e.g.within a game or virtual world). Then a second user (in a secondlocation which may be remote from the first location) may interact withthat arrangement in the virtual world. In an example, the first user mayset out an arrangement of toy soldiers (with each toy soldier being aplay piece) or build a fortified castle (with parts of the castle beingplay pieces) and the second user may attack the virtual representationof the toy soldiers or castle. The results of the attack may bedisplayed to the first user within the interactive entertainmentexperience.

As described above, in various examples the interactive entertainmentexperience 106 is a computer game and as well as responding to theuser's arrangement of play pieces (by reflecting the proximity of theplay pieces within the interactive entertainment experience in block404) in a style of game play which may be described as non-directed(because the game does not force or suggest any particular interactionwith the play pieces and any physical object constrained to the path),the game may also provide directed game play, as shown in FIG. 6.

In the directed game play, the game presents goals or objectives to theuser (who might also be referred to as a player) within the game (block604) where those goals/objectives require the player to interact withthe physical play pieces in order to further progress within the game106, i.e. the user cannot achieve the goal/objective without interactingwith the physical pieces and changing the proximity of two or morepieces. For example, a user may need to bring a particular combinationof play pieces into close proximity (e.g. blocks A, B and D) or move thepieces such that a piece is not proximate (e.g. blocks A and B in closeproximity and lack of proximity between blocks A and C and blocks B andC), etc. In order to determine whether the objective has been met, thegame receives (updated) proximity data from one or more physical pieces(block 402).

The game then modifies the game play (block 606) dependent upon whetherthe objective (set in block 604) has been met or not. By meeting theobjective, the user may be able to progress to a new level, achieve ahigher score, win a contest, unlock additional features (e.g. hiddenfeatures, mini-games, new levels, etc.) within the game, get an“achievement” awarded to them, assist other players in cooperativemultiplayer scenarios, play against other players in competitivemultiplayer scenarios, etc.

The progression which is achieved through the interaction with physicalplay pieces, and hence by achieving the objective set, may be linearprogression (e.g. progression to the next level) or may be non-linearprogression which results in an enhancement to the game play. Forexample, the interaction may unlock some optional content e.g. a newavatar for the virtual vehicle which is not required to complete themain storyline of the game.

The directed game play may be explicit, in that the goals/objectives andthe corresponding need to move the physical play pieces are clearlycommunicated to the user (e.g. through messages within the GUI).Alternatively, the goals/objectives and/or the need to interact with thephysical play pieces may be implicit, in that the goals/objectives orrequired arrangement of physical play pieces are known to the game butare not communicated to the user and must be discovered by the user. Theuse of implicit directed game play adds further challenges to the userand enhances the user experience.

The objectives which are presented to the user (in block 604) may bepre-defined and stored within the game software. Alternatively they maybe generated dynamically (block 602). In various examples, they may begenerated based at least in part on the information received from thephysical play pieces (in block 402), e.g. they may be dependent on thecurrent arrangement of physical play pieces. In various examples, theobjective which is set may be generated based on the user's history(e.g. past performance) within the game or based on any othercharacteristics of the user or information about the user. Datadetailing the user's history may, for example, be stored by the gameitself or alternatively may be stored on a remote server and accessed bythe game. By tailoring the objectives to be specific to a user, thisenhances the overall user experience within the game. In examples wherethe objectives are dynamically generated (in block 602), this maycomprise one or more of: choosing an objective or goal from apre-existing list of possible objectives/goals (e.g. based on acharacteristic of the user or another factor described above), creatingan objective/goal based on random factors and using existing gameplay todate to influence the choice/creation of objective/goal.

FIG. 7 shows four more example play sets 701-704 which are designed fordifferent types of play scenarios and/or play styles. The first exampleplay set 701 comprises a plurality of play pieces 710-713 each of whichis shaped like a real-world object (e.g. a person 710, an animal 711, atree 712, a vehicle 713). The play pieces 710-713 can be moved freely bythe user and do not physically attach (or connect) to each other and auser plays with the pieces on a surface 714 such as the floor or a tabletop. A user may, for example, act out a story using the play pieces710-713 and the associated interactive entertainment experience mayprovide sound and/or visual effects based on the relative proximity ofvarious play pieces.

In the second example play set 702 in FIG. 7 there are two differentstyles of play piece (where the style of a play piece is orthogonal towhether it is active/semi-active/passive)—bases 720-721 and objects722-723. Each object play piece 722-723 is shaped like a real-worldobject (e.g. a person 722, a tree 723) and can be moved freely by theuser; however the object play pieces 722-723 are usually placed on topof a base 720-721. The base play pieces 720-721 represent theenvironment and may have a flat upper surface (e.g. play piece 720) ormay be contoured (e.g. play piece 721). In various examples, the baseplay pieces may be placed abutting each other and in other examples thebase play pieces may be arranged so that they can be connected together(e.g. using interlocking features or connectors). In the example shownin FIG. 7, one base play piece 720 represents a beach environment andthe other 721 represents a hill or mountainside. A user may, forexample, act out a story using the play pieces 720-723 and theassociated interactive entertainment experience may provide sound and/orvisual effects based on the relative proximity of various play pieces.

The third example play set 703 in FIG. 7 comprises a number of figurines730 and two towers 731. In this example, the figurines 730 may besemi-active play pieces and the two towers 731 may be active play piecesand determine the relative proximity of the figurines and also of thefigurines and the towers. The fourth example play set 704 in FIG. 7 issimilar to the third example 703, but only comprises a single tower 731.A user may (in either example 703-704), act out a story (such as abattle) using the figurines 730 (which may resemble soldiers orwarriors) and the associated interactive entertainment experience mayprovide sound and/or visual effects based on the relative proximity ofvarious play pieces.

In a further example, any of the play pieces described herein (e.g. anyof the play pieces shown in the examples in FIG. 7) may be modular, i.e.they may be formed from a number of play pieces which are sub-componentsand which connect together to form a coherent physical whole object.FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of two example physical play pieces whichform part of a set of physical play pieces and which can be connectedtogether to form an object play piece. FIG. 8 shows a core physical playpiece 802 and a peripheral physical play piece 804. An object play piecemay be formed from one or more core play pieces 802 and one or moreperipheral play pieces 804. The core play piece 802 comprises a battery806, a wireless communications module 808, a processor 810 and one ormore connectors 812. The battery 806 provides power to components withinthe core (such as processor 810 and wireless communications module 808)and also to some/all of the peripheral play pieces 804 via theconnectors 812. The wireless communications module 808 comprises atransmitter and in various examples also a receiver (and in variousexamples more than one transmitter and/or receiver) to enable the coreplay piece 802 (and hence the assembled object play piece) to operate asan active or semi-active play piece. The connectors 812 physicallyattach the peripheral play pieces 804 to the core play piece 802 and mayalso pass data and power between play pieces.

Where the object play piece is operative as an active play piece, theprocessor 810 within the core play piece 802 may be arranged to generatethe proximity data (e.g. as in block 226 of FIG. 2). In various examplesit may also collect the IDs (which may be a unique ID or an ID sharedwith other identical-looking play pieces, e.g. an ID for a particularshape or type of play piece) of each of the play pieces connectedtogether to form an object play piece. The processor 810 may be amicroprocessor, controller or any other suitable type of processor forprocessing computer executable instructions to control the operation ofthe core play piece in order to generate the proximity data (and invarious examples also to collect the IDs of connected play pieces). Coreand peripheral play pieces may be connected together in any way. Eachperipheral play piece 804 comprises one or more connectors 812, 814 tophysically attach the play piece to another play piece to form theobject play piece. Where a peripheral play piece 804 comprises more thanone connector 812, 814 it may further comprise electrical connections824 (e.g. in the form of a bus comprising 2 wires, data and ground)between the two connectors 812, 814.

In various examples each peripheral play piece 804 may comprise astorage element 816 which stores an identifier (ID) for the peripheralplay piece (which may be referred to as the play piece ID) and maycomprise additional data. The storage element 816 may comprise memory orany other form of storage device. In the example shown in FIG. 8, thestorage element 816 which stores the play piece ID is actually withinthe housing of the connector 814; however, in other examples it may beseparate from the connector. In various examples, a peripheral playpiece 804 may also comprise a processor (not shown in FIG. 8) and thistoo may be within the housing of the connector 814 or separate from theconnector. In various examples, a peripheral play piece 804 may alsocomprise a battery (not shown in FIG. 8) and this may provide power toelectronics within the peripheral play piece 804 and/or to neighboringplay pieces (which may be peripheral or core play pieces). In this way,if an arrangement of play pieces requires more power than can beprovided by the battery 806 in the core play piece 802, additional powercan be provided by a battery in a peripheral play piece 804.

Although not shown in FIG. 8, a core play piece 802 may also comprise astorage element which stores an identifier for the play piece. As withthe peripheral play piece, the storage element may comprise memory orany other form of storage device. The storage element which stores theplay piece ID may be within a connector 812, the wireless module 808 ormay be a separate entity within the core play piece 802.

It will be appreciated that the play pieces 802, 804 shown in FIG. 8 maycomprise additional elements not shown in FIG. 8. It will further beappreciated that although FIG. 8 shows the modules of being square orrectangular, each of the play pieces can have any physical form factor(e.g. any shape of external housing) which is compatible with the otherplay pieces (i.e. each play piece is shaped such that it can connect toat least one other play piece, without the outer housing clashing).

In various examples, a play piece (which may be a peripheral play piece804 or a core play piece 802) may comprise one or more sensors,actuators and/or displays that are controlled by and/or provide data tothe processor 810 within the core play piece 802. Examples of sensorsthat may be used include: temperature sensors, vibration sensors,accelerometers, tilt sensors, gyroscopic sensors, rotation sensors,magnetometers, proximity sensors (active/passive infrared orultrasonic), sound sensors, light sensors, etc. Examples of actuatorsthat may be used include: electromagnets, motors, servos, vibrationunits, solenoids, speakers, etc. Examples of displays that may be usedinclude one or more LEDs, a small LCD display, an e-ink display, etc.Where a play piece comprises a sensor, the sensor data may becommunicated by the core play piece 802 to the game 106.

The play pieces and associated interactive entertainment experiencedescribed above may enable many different types of play. The examplesshown in FIG. 7 illustrate a number of examples and further examplesinclude dolls houses (e.g. where the bases 720-721 in the second exampleare shaped like rooms rather than being more planar base pieces and thepieces 722-723 are object/characters that may be placed in the dollshouse). FIG. 9 shows a further example of a board game which is formedusing play pieces as described above. In the example shown in FIG. 9,the base 901 is an active play piece and the pieces 902 which are placedon the base during game play may be active or semi-active play pieces(as described above. In the example shown, the pieces 902 are shapedlike ships and the interactive entertainment experience is abattleship-like game which allows players to use physical pieces butstill play against a remote opponent. Referring back to FIG. 2, eachactive piece generates proximity data (in block 226) and transmits thisto the game (in block 228) so that the game can update the GUI for theremote user (e.g. in block 442 of FIG. 4) and in various examplesenhance the user experience through sound effects (in block 443) orvisual effects in other play pieces (in block 444). For example, when aship is destroyed by an opponent it may light up (e.g. LEDs within thepiece may be switched on based on commands received from the game inblock 229) to indicate this. In further examples, the play set maycomprise a different board game and pieces to be placed on the boardgame.

FIG. 10 illustrates various components of an exemplary computing-baseddevice 1000 which may be implemented as any form of a computing and/orelectronic device, and in which embodiments of the methods describedherein may be implemented. This computing based device 1000 may, forexample, be the computing device 108 shown in FIG. 1 or a cloud-basedcomputing device which runs the interactive entertainment experience106.

Computing-based device 1000 comprises one or more processors 112 whichmay be microprocessors, controllers or any other suitable type ofprocessors for processing computer executable instructions to controlthe operation of the device in order to perform the methods describedherein (e.g. infer a path and present at least a part of the path in aGUI). In some examples, for example where a system on a chiparchitecture is used, the processors 112 may include one or more fixedfunction blocks (also referred to as accelerators) which implement apart of the method of path inference in hardware (rather than softwareor firmware).

Alternatively, or in addition, the functionality described herein can beperformed, at least in part, by one or more hardware logic components.For example, and without limitation, illustrative types of hardwarelogic components that can be used include Field-programmable Gate Arrays(FPGAs), Program-specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Program-specificStandard Products (ASSPs), System-on-a-chip systems (SOCs), ComplexProgrammable Logic Devices (CPLDs).

Platform software comprising an operating system 1004 or any othersuitable platform software may be provided at the computing-based deviceto enable application software, such as an interactive entertainmentexperience 106 to be executed on the device.

The computer executable instructions may be provided using anycomputer-readable media that is accessible by computing based device1000. Computer-readable media may include, for example, computer storagemedia such as memory 110 and communications media. Computer storagemedia, such as memory 110, includes volatile and non-volatile, removableand non-removable media implemented in any method or technology forstorage of information such as computer readable instructions, datastructures, program modules or other data. Computer storage mediaincludes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memoryor other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) orother optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transmissionmedium that can be used to store information for access by a computingdevice. In contrast, communication media may embody computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in amodulated data signal, such as a carrier wave, or other transportmechanism. As defined herein, computer storage media does not includecommunication media. Therefore, a computer storage medium should not beinterpreted to be a propagating signal per se. Propagated signals may bepresent in a computer storage media, but propagated signals per se arenot examples of computer storage media. Although the computer storagemedia (memory 110) is shown within the computing-based device 1000 itwill be appreciated that the storage may be distributed or locatedremotely and accessed via a network or other communication link (e.g.using communication interface 113).

The communication interface 113 may be arranged to receive data from oneor more physical play pieces and may comprise a wireless transmitterand/or wireless receiver. In various examples the communicationinterface 113 receives data from the physical play pieces directly andin other examples, the communication interface 113 may receive data fromthe play pieces via an intermediary device (e.g. where thecomputing-based device 1000 is a cloud-based device, the data may bereceived via a another computing-based device which is within range ofthe transmitters in the physical play pieces and the two computingdevices may be connected via a network such as the internet). Inexamples where the play pieces comprise a feedback mechanism (e.g. LED,speaker, etc.) the communication interface 113 may also be arranged totransmit data (e.g. commands) to one or more physical play pieces (againthese may be transmitted directly to the play pieces or via anintermediary device).

The computing-based device 1000 may also comprise an input/outputcontroller 1016. The input/output controller may be arranged to outputdisplay information (e.g. the GUI) to a display device 1018 which may beseparate from or integral to the computing-based device 1000. Theinput/output controller 1016 may also be arranged to receive and processinput from one or more devices, such as a user input device 1024 (e.g. amouse, keyboard, camera, microphone or other sensor). In some examplesthe user input device 1024 may detect voice input, user gestures orother user actions and may provide a natural user interface (NUI). Thisuser input may be used to further control game play. In an embodimentthe display device 1018 may also act as the user input device 1024 if itis a touch sensitive display device. The input/output controller 1016may also output data to devices other than the display device, e.g. alocally connected printing device (not shown in FIG. 10).

Any of the input/output controller 1016, display device 1018 and theuser input device 1024 may comprise NUI technology which enables a userto interact with the computing-based device in a natural manner, freefrom artificial constraints imposed by input devices such as mice,keyboards, remote controls and the like. Examples of NUI technology thatmay be provided include but are not limited to those relying on voiceand/or speech recognition, touch and/or stylus recognition (touchsensitive displays), gesture recognition both on screen and adjacent tothe screen, air gestures, head and eye tracking, voice and speech,vision, touch, gestures, and machine intelligence. Other examples of NUItechnology that may be used include intention and goal understandingsystems, motion gesture detection systems using depth cameras (such asstereoscopic camera systems, infrared camera systems, RGB camera systemsand combinations of these), motion gesture detection usingaccelerometers/gyroscopes, facial recognition, 3D displays, head, eyeand gaze tracking, immersive augmented reality and virtual realitysystems and technologies for sensing brain activity using electric fieldsensing electrodes (EEG and related methods).

Although the present examples are described and illustrated herein asbeing implemented in a play system (comprising a set of physical playpieces and an associated game) as shown in FIGS. 1, 7 and 8, the systemsdescribed are provided as examples and not limitations. As those skilledin the art will appreciate, the present examples are suitable forapplication in a variety of different types of play systems.

An aspect provides a system comprising a play set which in turncomprises one or more active physical play pieces. An active physicalplay piece comprises: a receiver operative to receive signals from oneor more other physical play pieces; a distance module operative togenerate proximity data using signals received by the receiver; and atransmitter operative to transmit proximity data to an interactiveentertainment experience associated with the play set. The proximitydata describes distances between two or more physical play pieces thatare transmitting signals to three or more discrete levels of proximityand changes in proximity levels between play pieces are reflected in theinteractive entertainment experience.

In various examples, the play set comprises two or more active physicalplay pieces. The play set may further comprise one or more semi-activeplay pieces, a semi-active play piece comprising: a transmitteroperative to transmit signals to an active play piece. As describedabove, a semi-active piece does not comprise a distance module.

In various examples, the three or more discrete levels of proximitycomprise a first level indicating a lack of proximity between playpieces, a second level indicating distant proximity between play piecesand a third level indicating close proximity between play pieces. Thethree or more discrete levels of proximity may further comprise one ormore of: a proximity level indicating that two play pieces are connectedtogether; and a proximity level indicating that one play piece is insideanother play piece. In other examples, however, the three or morediscrete levels of proximity comprise actual distances between playpieces.

In various examples, an active physical play piece further comprises afeedback device, wherein the feedback device is activated in response toa command received by the active physical play piece from the associatedinteractive entertainment experience.

In various examples, the receiver is a wireless receiver and thetransmitter is a wireless transmitter.

In various examples, the active physical play piece represents an entityin the interactive entertainment experience and in some examples, theactive physical play piece may have a shape and appearance whichcorresponds to the entity in the interactive entertainment experience.In various examples, some of the play pieces in a play set may becapable of connecting to each other and in other examples each of theplay pieces in a play set may be a separate piece which does notcomprise any mechanism for connecting it to another piece.

In various examples, some of the play pieces in a play set may comprisebase boards and represent environments and others of the play pieces inthe play set may represent objects or characters.

In various examples, the system further comprises a computing devicearranged to run the interactive entertainment experience. In variousexamples, the interactive entertainment experience comprisesdevice-executable instructions which when executed cause the computingdevice to: receive proximity data from a physical play piece; andreflect the proximity data in the interactive entertainment experience.Reflecting the proximity data in the interactive entertainmentexperience may comprise one or more of: updating a user's progress basedon the proximity data; reflecting the proximity data in a graphical userinterface; playing sound effects based on the proximity data; andsending a command to another physical play piece based on the proximitydata.

In various examples, the interactive entertainment experience furthercomprises device-executable instructions which when executed cause thecomputing device to: present an objective (which may be dynamicallygenerated) to the user within the interactive entertainment experience;determine whether the objective is met based on proximity data received;and modify the interactive entertainment experience in response todetermining that the objective has been met.

A further aspect provides a method comprising: receiving signals at anactive physical play piece from one or more other physical play pieces;generating proximity data in the active physical play piece based onsignals received, the proximity data describing distances between two ormore physical play pieces that are transmitting signals to three or morediscrete levels of proximity; and transmitting the proximity data fromthe active physical play piece to an interactive entertainmentexperience running on a computing device.

In various examples, the method further comprises transmitting signalsfrom the active play piece to one or more other physical play pieces.These signals may comprise the proximity data.

In various examples, the method further comprises: receiving a signalfrom the interactive entertainment experience at an active physical playpiece; and in response to receiving the signal, controlling a feedbackmechanism within the active physical play piece.

A yet further aspect provides a method comprising: receiving proximitydata from an active physical play piece at an interactive entertainmentexperience, the proximity data describing distances between two or morephysical play pieces that are transmitting signals to three or morediscrete levels of proximity; and reflecting the proximity data in theinteractive entertainment experience. Reflecting the proximity data inthe interactive entertainment experience may comprise one or more of:updating a user's progress based on the proximity data; reflecting theproximity data in a graphical user interface; playing sound effectsbased on the proximity data; and sending a command to another physicalplay piece based on the proximity data.

In various examples, the interactive entertainment experience is a gameand the method further comprises: presenting an objective (which may bedynamically generated) to a user within the game; and modifying gameplay dependent upon whether the user meets the objective.

Another aspect provides a system comprising a play set which in turncomprises one or more active physical play pieces. An active physicalplay piece comprises: a means for receiving signals from one or moreother physical play pieces; a means for generating proximity data usingsignals received by the receiver; and a means for transmitting proximitydata to an interactive entertainment experience associated with the playset. The proximity data describes distances between two or more physicalplay pieces that are transmitting signals to three or more discretelevels of proximity and changes in proximity levels between play piecesare reflected in the interactive entertainment experience.

In various examples, the means for transmitting proximity data may useone of: infra-red, radio-frequency signals, ultra-sonic signals,magnetic fields, etc.

The term ‘computer’ or ‘computing-based device’ is used herein to referto any device with processing capability such that it can executeinstructions. Those skilled in the art will realize that such processingcapabilities are incorporated into many different devices and thereforethe terms ‘computer’ and ‘computing-based device’ each include PCs,servers, mobile telephones (including smart phones), tablet computers,set-top boxes, media players, games consoles, personal digitalassistants and many other devices.

The methods described herein may be performed by software in machinereadable form on a tangible storage medium e.g. in the form of acomputer program comprising computer program code means adapted toperform all the steps of any of the methods described herein when theprogram is run on a computer and where the computer program may beembodied on a computer readable medium. Examples of tangible storagemedia include computer storage devices comprising computer-readablemedia such as disks, thumb drives, memory etc. and do not includepropagated signals. Propagated signals may be present in a tangiblestorage media, but propagated signals per se are not examples oftangible storage media. The software can be suitable for execution on aparallel processor or a serial processor such that the method steps maybe carried out in any suitable order, or simultaneously.

This acknowledges that software can be a valuable, separately tradablecommodity. It is intended to encompass software, which runs on orcontrols “dumb” or standard hardware, to carry out the desiredfunctions. It is also intended to encompass software which “describes”or defines the configuration of hardware, such as HDL (hardwaredescription language) software, as is used for designing silicon chips,or for configuring universal programmable chips, to carry out desiredfunctions.

Those skilled in the art will realize that storage devices utilized tostore program instructions can be distributed across a network. Forexample, a remote computer may store an example of the process describedas software. A local or terminal computer may access the remote computerand download a part or all of the software to run the program.Alternatively, the local computer may download pieces of the software asneeded, or execute some software instructions at the local terminal andsome at the remote computer (or computer network). Those skilled in theart will also realize that by utilizing conventional techniques known tothose skilled in the art that all, or a portion of the softwareinstructions may be carried out by a dedicated circuit, such as a DSP,programmable logic array, or the like.

Any range or device value given herein may be extended or alteredwithout losing the effect sought, as will be apparent to the skilledperson.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed asexample forms of implementing the claims.

It will be understood that the benefits and advantages described abovemay relate to one embodiment or may relate to several embodiments. Theembodiments are not limited to those that solve any or all of the statedproblems or those that have any or all of the stated benefits andadvantages. It will further be understood that reference to ‘an’ itemrefers to one or more of those items.

The steps of the methods described herein may be carried out in anysuitable order, or simultaneously where appropriate. Additionally,individual blocks may be deleted from any of the methods withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the subject matter describedherein. Aspects of any of the examples described above may be combinedwith aspects of any of the other examples described to form furtherexamples without losing the effect sought.

The term ‘comprising’ is used herein to mean including the method blocksor elements identified, but that such blocks or elements do not comprisean exclusive list and a method or apparatus may contain additionalblocks or elements.

The term ‘subset’ is used herein to refer to a proper subset such that asubset of a set does not comprise all the elements of the set (i.e. atleast one of the elements of the set is missing from the subset).

It will be understood that the above description is given by way ofexample only and that various modifications may be made by those skilledin the art. The above specification, examples and data provide acomplete description of the structure and use of exemplary embodiments.Although various embodiments have been described above with a certaindegree of particularity, or with reference to one or more individualembodiments, those skilled in the art could make numerous alterations tothe disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope ofthis specification.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a play set comprisinga plurality of physical play pieces, the plurality of physical playpieces comprising: an active physical play piece, and two or moreadditional physical play pieces, the two or more additional play piecescomprising: a first semi-active physical play piece, wherein asemi-active physical play piece comprises a transmitter operative totransmit signals to an active physical play piece, but does not includea distance module operative to generate proximity data describingdistances between the semi-active physical play piece and the other ofthe plurality of physical play pieces, and at least one additionalphysical play piece that is either: a second semi-active physical playpiece, or a passive physical play piece that does not transmit signals,wherein the active physical play piece comprises: a receiver operativeto receive signals from one or more of the additional physical playpieces; a distance module operative to generate proximity data intothree or more discrete and non-overlapping levels of proximity usingsignals received by the receiver, the proximity data describing:distances between the active physical play piece and the one or more ofthe additional physical play pieces, and at least one distance betweenthe two or more additional physical play pieces; and a transmitteroperative to transmit the proximity data to a computing device arrangedto run an interactive entertainment experience associated with the playset, wherein the interactive entertainment experience comprisescomputing-device-executable instructions which when executed cause thecomputing device to: receive the proximity data from the active physicalplay piece, and reflect in the interactive entertainment experience oneor more changes in proximity levels between two or more of the pluralityof physical play pieces.
 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein theplay set comprises two or more active physical play pieces.
 3. Thesystem according to claim 1, wherein the three or more discrete andnon-overlapping levels of proximity comprise a first level indicating alack of proximity between play pieces, a second level indicating distantproximity between play pieces and a third level indicating closeproximity between play pieces.
 4. The system according to claim 1,wherein the three or more discrete levels of proximity further compriseone or more of: a proximity level indicating that two play pieces areconnected together; and a proximity level indicating that one play pieceis inside another play piece.
 5. The system according to claim 1,wherein the three or more discrete levels of proximity comprise actualdistances between play pieces.
 6. The system according to claim 1,wherein an active physical play piece further comprises a feedbackdevice, wherein the feedback device is activated in response to acommand received by the active physical play piece from the associatedinteractive entertainment experience.
 7. The system according to claim1, wherein the receiver is a wireless receiver and the transmitter is awireless transmitter.
 8. The system according to claim 1, wherein anactive physical play piece represents an entity in the interactiveentertainment experience.
 9. The system according to claim 1, whereinreflecting the proximity data in the interactive entertainmentexperience comprises one or more of: updating a user's progress based onthe proximity data; reflecting the proximity data in a graphical userinterface; playing sound effects based on the proximity data; andsending a command to another physical play piece based on the proximitydata.
 10. The system according to claim 1, wherein the interactiveentertainment experience further comprises device-executableinstructions which when executed cause the computing device to: presentan objective to the user within the interactive entertainment experiencegame; determine whether the objective is met based on proximity datareceived; and modify the interactive entertainment experience game inresponse to determining that the objective has been met.
 11. The systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the two or more additional physical playpieces further comprise at least one passive play piece, wherein the atleast one passive play piece does not transmit signals.
 12. A methodcomprising: receiving signals at an active physical play piece from twoor more other physical play pieces, the two or more other physical playpieces comprising: a first semi-active physical play piece, wherein asemi-active physical play piece comprises a transmitter operative totransmit signals to an active physical play piece, but does not includea distance module operative to generate proximity data describingdistances between the semi-active physical play piece and the other ofthe plurality of physical play pieces, and at least one additionalphysical play piece that is either: a second semi-active physical playpiece, or a passive physical play piece that does not transmit signals;generating proximity data in the active physical play piece based atleast in part on signals received, the proximity data describingdistances between the active physical play piece and the two or moreother physical play pieces, as well as one or more distances between thefirst semi-active physical play piece and the at least one additionalphysical play piece, into three or more discrete and non-overlappinglevels of proximity; and transmitting the proximity data from the activephysical play piece to an interactive entertainment experience runningon a computing device, wherein the interactive entertainment experiencecomprises computing-device executable instructions which when executedcause the computing device to receive the proximity data from the activephysical play piece and reflect changes in proximity levels between twoor more of the physical play pieces in the interactive entertainmentexperience.
 13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising:transmitting signals from the active play piece to the one or more otherphysical play pieces.
 14. The method according to claim 13, wherein thesignals transmitted from the active physical play piece to the one ormore other physical play pieces comprise the proximity data.
 15. Themethod according to claim 12, further comprising: receiving a signalfrom the interactive entertainment experience at the active physicalplay piece; and in response to receiving the signal, controlling afeedback mechanism within the active physical play piece.
 16. The methodaccording to claim 12, wherein the three or more discrete andnon-overlapping levels of proximity comprise a first level indicating alack of proximity between play pieces, a second level indicating distantproximity between play pieces and a third level indicating closeproximity between play pieces.
 17. A method comprising: receivingproximity data from an active physical play piece at an interactiveentertainment experience, the proximity data describing distancesbetween the active physical play piece and two or more other physicalplay pieces comprising one or more semi-active physical play pieces andone or more passive physical play pieces that do not transmit signals,as well as one or more distances between at least one of the one or moresemi-active play pieces and at least one of the one or more passive playpieces, into three or more discrete and non-overlapping levels ofproximity, wherein a semi-active physical play piece comprises atransmitter operative to transmit signals to an active physical playpiece, but does not include a distance module operative to generateproximity data describing distances between the semi-active physicalplay piece and the other of the plurality of physical play pieces; andreflecting the proximity data in the interactive entertainmentexperience, wherein the interactive entertainment experience comprisescomputing-device executable instructions which when executed cause thecomputing device to receive the proximity data from the active physicalplay piece and reflect changes in proximity levels between two or moreof the physical play pieces in the interactive entertainment experience.18. The method according to claim 17, wherein reflecting the proximitydata in the interactive entertainment experience comprises one or moreof: updating a user's progress based on the proximity data; reflectingthe proximity data in a graphical user interface; playing sound effectsbased on the proximity data; and sending a command to another physicalplay piece based on the proximity data.
 19. The method according toclaim 17, wherein the interactive entertainment experience is a game andwherein the method further comprises: presenting an objective to a userwithin the interactive entertainment experience game; and modifying gameplay dependent upon whether the user meets the objective.
 20. The methodaccording to claim 17, wherein the three or more discrete andnon-overlapping levels of proximity comprise a first level indicating alack of proximity between play pieces, a second level indicating distantproximity between play pieces and a third level indicating closeproximity between play pieces.
 21. The method according to claim 17,wherein the active physical play piece comprises a feedback device,wherein the feedback device is activated in response to a commandreceived by the active physical play piece from the interactiveentertainment experience.